Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
Ni Putu Timy and Devota Rahawarin weathered a semifinal scare
to reach the women's final of the LA Menthol Indonesia Open beach
volleyball championship here on Saturday.
Timy and Devota, the winners of the previous two legs of the
series in Yogyakarta and Semarang, were a game down before
regrouping to take a 19-21, 21-17, 16-14 victory over Engel
Bertha Kaize and Ninik Nuraida in 49 minutes at the Surabaya
Plaza parking lot.
"After the loss in the opening game, we changed tactics. I
told Devota to restrain herself from showy but ineffective hard
smashes. A return, though weak, if played accurately, would get
points," Timy said.
Their opponents must be ruing their missed opportunity to
avenge their defeat in Yogyakarta, especially after leading 12-10
and 13-11 in the deciding game thanks to Ninik's strong smashing
and the poor serves of Devota.
With victory within reach, the pair suffered a fatal lapse in
defense.
Timy and Devota, who earlier defeated Lim Poh Hong and Iswari
of Malaysia 21-8, 21-11, will face Luk Teck Eng and Shun Bing,
the surprise 21-18, 21-18 winners over second series runners-up
G. Kesenee and T. Arawan of Thailand, on Sunday.
Local pairings dominated the men's tournament, with all
Indonesian contests in the semifinals.
The last foreign team to exit the tournament was Ben Newton
and Peter Jones. The Australians fought to the end before losing
to Andi Iswahyudi and Mashudin of East Java 21-16, 15-21, 19-17
in the quarterfinals.
The Indonesians then lost to compatriots Andy Ardiansyah and
Supriadi, 21-15, 21-13. The latter play Agus Salim and Koko
Prasetyo, who held off Yogyakarta's Agus Himawan and Suratno for
a 21-11, 19-21, 15-12 victory.
It will be the third match in the Indonesian Open to pit both
pairs, with Andy and Supriadi leading 2-0.
After Sunday's finals the players will head to Jakarta for the
grand finals, reserved for the top 24 teams based on rankings
from the previous three legs in the series.